


Wizards in Winter

by Sessediz



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Holiday Fic Exchange, Holidays, Pining, White Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28154319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sessediz/pseuds/Sessediz
Summary: Silver Millennium-era story written for star-bunn in the 2020 Sailor Moon Holiday Gift Exchange*The name is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) song.
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: 2020 Sailor Moon Holiday Gift Exchange





	Wizards in Winter

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for star-bunn for the 2020 Sailor Moon Holiday Gift Exchange.
> 
> Prompt: White Christmas   
> Characters: Mamoru + Shitennou (and Usagi!)
> 
> I went with a Silver Millennium-era story because that’s where most of the Shitennou/Generals are present. The name is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) song. I hope you all (and star-bunn) enjoy! :)

“How much longer are we going to keep at this?” a freezing Nephrite nearly whined as his horse jostled him from side to side. With a hearty chuckle and then a low, breathy sigh, Kunzite galloped up to his prince to see how much further they would be going on today’s ride. The sun would be down in just a few hours, and it was already the coldest December on record.

“Why are you all so keen to head back? It’s only just after noontime,” Endymion pulled on the reigns of his horse, and looked out into the misty distance. “Besides, I’m looking for something.”

“More like _someone_ ,” Zoisite teased.

Nephrite popped off his horse, and reached for a carrot from his pack. “Even the horses are done with this cold.”

Endymion scoffed. “More like he needs proper care. There’s mud and leaves caked up in his shoes.”

“There’s mud because you insist on sending us out after the rains and this bitter frost,” Nephrite fired back as he pulled out a dagger to start cleaning his horse’s shoes.

“Yeah, it’s a wonder we’ve no snow this year. I wonder if the cold fronts will ever line up with the precipitation,” Jadeite added. “It would be nice to have a white Christmas, wouldn’t it, lads?”

They all nodded, sans Endymion who was still scanning the horizon.

“Are you sure she was real?” Kunzite was tired of travelling out in the cold every day, but he was also growing concern about his prince’s obsession. Endymion wasn’t sleeping much these days, and he was worried about the prince’s strength. He was also growing concerned over the lacking security at the palace. “Maybe you imagined her, or it was a dream?”

“Oh, she’s a dream, Kunzite, there’s no doubt about that. She’s a midnight fairy, a delicate fawn, Aphrodite, my goddess…”

“Yes, yes, she’s your Venus. But that doesn’t mean that this ‘perfect girl’ isn’t something your mind invented from weeks of cold isolation while your parents have been in the distant countryside.” Kunzite placed a hand on Endymion’s shoulder. “This is a time in which you are supposed to get comfortable with your rule. The chance to be regent should not be wasted on fantasies like this when there are people showing up for your guidance on the daily. There’s work to be done.”

Endymion sighed, knowing that his generals were right. He had spent the last two weeks looking for the long-haired beauty that haunted him. He _knew_ that he saw her, and he needed to know her name, but aside from decreeing that the mysterious woman present herself in front of the future king, something he would never do as he didn’t want to exercise his powers against someone who could one day be his equal, he might never find where she lived.

“You’re quite right,” Endymion said to Kunzite. “All of you,” he turned towards them, “I’m sorry for dragging you out in this freezing weather. I—I’m not looking forward to my first Christmas without my parents, since they won’t be back until after the new year. Please forgive my behavior of late.”

Pulling the reigns to the right, he led his horse back in the direction they had come. And you’re right, Jadeite, a white Christmas would be special.” With the palace being about the size of his thumbnail, it would probably be another hour before they could rest beside its many hearths. “Let’s get back quickly so we can get ready for the Christmas Eve dinner… with a race!” Endymion softened his grip on the reigns, and squeezed his calves and heels in to encourage his steed to a roaring gallop. “Last one there has to eat Nephrite’s fruitcake!”

“Hey!” Nephrite protested, not really wanting to eat the dessert either.

None of them were aware of the bright blue eyes lurking in the shadows of the densely-wooded forest, just beyond the road, as they headed back for the palace.

After a hearty meal, and joyful stories were shared, the prince and his generals dismissed themselves from the table to head for the south wing. Nephrite, Zoisite, and Jadeite walked with their arms linked around each other’s shoulders, singing ‘Joy to the World’ cheerfully, if not a bit drunkenly. Endymion and Kunzite looked to each other with a shake of the head, and a simple shrug. As they reached the prince’s rooms, the impromptu trio finished their song a bit off key, with Jadeite adding embellishments to the finale note.

“Goodnight, my prince! Happy Christmas,” Zoisite said with an elegant bow.

“Merry Christmas, Endymion,” Nephrite and Jadeite said in unison, as they joined in for a hug.

With a likewise greeting and a smile, Endymion watched as three of his generals left for their halls, with only Kunzite staying behind.

“Prince Endymion, if it’s not too bold to say, I understand that you may be… concerned about – well – preserving your legacy.” The prince’s face turned red as holly berries as he turned to look to the side, and Kunzite hid his chuckle at his liege’s innocent response. “However, I do believe that you will find a proper woman to stand beside you in all matters, and shortly too; she might even be your soulmate, sire.”

When the prince failed to come up with a reply, his lead general took his leave with a bow, and bestowed a simple Christmas wish. As Endymion walked into his room, he saw that a hot bath had been drawn, so he readied himself. With a glance in the mirror, he imagined the fair goddess beside him; nameless, but still his vision of a soulmate, and closed his eyes as his head hung low.

“I only wish to marry my soulmate, not any other,” he whispered as he submerged himself into the heated water with just a little escaping over the stony edge.

“You’ll cause a mess, Earth prince,” the voice of his dreams said.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. “I dare not open my eyes, lest I go completely mad,” he said dipping his head back to wet his hair. “You are the goddess that haunts my mind, but not my halls. How is it ever that I could come up with such a fantastical fantasy?”

“You think I’m not real?” the velvet voice questioned as a drop of soap hit his head, and two hands began to massage the shampoo through his inky strands of hair. “Yet here I am, talking to you, touching you.”

“All fabrication of my maddening mind; artifice.”

The soft voice chuckled, “When will you ever learn, Earth prince? Do I need to make it snow from the heavens for you to be convinced of my presence? Must I transform into a Swan like that of Zeus?”

“To make snow in this cycle of weather would surely be a miracle. Our scientists do not detect any precipitation, not even a drizzle, till Thursday next.”

With her lips gracing the shell of his ear, she whispered, “Then a miracle of snow you shall have, my Earth prince.”

Endymion smiled, and opened his eyes, ready to look upon her lithe form for the first time that night, but he found his rooms were empty. And with that knowledge came despair as he so wished his dream to be true; for the beauty that haunted him. She had visited him every evening, for a fortnight, but she never stayed long, at least as long as he wanted her to stay. And she always came up with a reason for not telling her name, or where she was from, and usually her explanation for leaving was quick and vague. And just like that, she would disappear from sight.

It was almost like she was a ghost, which reminded him of an old Christmas tale.

Once he was dressed in his night clothes, and his candles extinguished, Endymion prayed out to the room that he would meet this mystery princess; that he would have her by his side as his wife, and his queen, that nothing would keep them from being together.

He walked to the window and gazed up at the nearly full moon, and noticed a cluster of shimmers near what his astronomers call the _Mare Serenitatis_ , or the Sea of Serenity. The prince wondered if the palace of the Moon Kingdom resided there. He knew very little of the other planets, since Earth was not a part of their Silver Alliance, but he hoped to address that once he became king.

Endymion paid no mind to the wet, gliding sounds that began outside. As soon as his candle was extinguished, his eyelids closed and the prince drifted off to sleep.

The next morning it was a little quieter than usual. Most of the birds were gone for the winter, so he was used to the silent start, but there was an almost eerie stillness that he had not heard in a while. Not eager to investigate, he pulled the covers over his head until he heard the palace awaken with laughter, cheers, and songs.

It was Christmas morning.

Endymion threw the blankets off, and started to get dressed in his cowl-neck wool sweater, the one in his favorite shade of green, when he heard a thud against his window. When he looked at the stained glass, there was something round affixed to the red panel, and the prince’s eyes widened as it slid down the pane. _Snow_.

He rushed down the stairs, and passed all those in preparation for the morning’s activities, with candles and gifts; platters of food and all the place settings. He weaved around each one, returning their Christmas greetings, as he bounded for the courtyard where his generals were already engaged in a fierce snow battle.

He fell to his knees, and grabbed the white fluff in his gloveless hands. “But how—,” he began to ask aloud when a snowball came hurdling towards his face.

“Prince Endymion!” his generals shouted as they ran to him.

Endymion chuckled as he threw himself back on the snow and spread out his arms and legs. “My angel, she’s real,” he whispered, but not quietly enough for his generals to not catch. Kunzite looked to the others, before kneeling down to help his prince.

“Yes, of course your snow angel is real?” he feigned a reason, giving Endymion an out he hoped the prince would take.

“It’s really her, don’t you see? She made it snow!” He stood up and grabbed Jadeite by the shoulders, “Jadeite, you said it yourself that there was no forecast for snow.”

“Yes, and?”

“And Kunzite, you said I would meet my soulmate, and I _have_. I just need to find her,” Endymion began to rush for the stables, when his head general stopped him.

“My prince, perhaps we should talk in private,” Kunzite tried reasoning again. “I—I think if you keep this up you’ll start losing support from your nobles. If talk gets out about your – imaginations – then we could have a serious problem.”

Endymion furrowed his brow, “After all this time, after everything we’ve been through together, you still think I’m not telling the truth.”

“I’ve not called you a liar, just that your vision of the truth might not be _the_ truth,” Kunzite whispered.

The prince looked to his generals, the other three lowering their heads immediately to avoid eye contact. They all thought he was crazy, and the only way to convince them otherwise would be to find the mysterious girl. Coincidentally, that’s all he wanted to do anyways.

“We shall have our Christmas celebration today; breakfast, gifts, and song, but tomorrow I am starting a search for her. If she is on this planet, then I will find her,” Endymion said, turning towards the door again.

“And what if she’s not? From this planet, that is,” Jadeite asked.

“Yes, what if she really _is_ from Venus?” Zoisite added.

“Then my first business as king will be to fix the interplanetary issues that my family has failed to address for nearly a millennia.” Endymion retreated inside, and begun the celebrations for the day. He read the Christmas story to the children of the palace, and helped to pass out gifts. He gave the thanks for the food, and made the first carve of the dinner roast.

All was going well until unexpected guests arrived.

His parents had arrived back earlier than planned, and with them came two silvery figures and four guardians, each dressed in a beautiful, velvet robe, lined with fur. Endymion could not see the face of the smaller of the two heavenly beings, but the woman looked awfully similar to his dream princess. Magic seemed to radiate from her skin; she was definitely different that his people of Earth.

She was clearly royal from the crown on her head, and she was well poised. Each of the guardians were very focused on their surroundings, scanning the entire court with their eyes as they lifted their hoods. Endymion leaned to his side to see the sixth unknown person, when his father spoke up.

“Merry Christmas, my boy!” he grinned widely as he brought Endymion in for a hug. “We meant to get in yesterday, but got delayed. I hope we haven’t missed much.”

“There are always more stories to tell by the fire, father. And we’ve only just begun to eat. Who are your guests?”

The king smiled as he gestured to the unknown group. “I didn’t want to say much until I had more assurance that it would go through, but we have been in trade negotiations with the Silver Alliance, and we’ve truly made a lot of progress. Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom wanted to meet with you before finalizing some of our arrangements, since you _are_ the next King of Earth.”

Endymion nodded to his father, and bowed his head towards the queen. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Queen Serenity.”

The Queen smiled softly, and glanced briefly to the hidden figure. “Your portrait doesn’t do you justice, Prince Endymion, but I imagine that my daughter is quite taken with you,” she said as she stepped to the side. “Your father, mother, and I have been making many agreements to open trade across our borders, to equalize the prosperity that the Silver Alliance has benefited from, and one last part was an agreement to an arranged marriage. My daughter Serenity, to their son,” she motioned to the figure, who removed the deep blue, velvet hood from her head.

And there she was. The one who charmingly haunted him all these weeks. The one whose name he now finally knew. With hair of spun gold, skin of alabaster, and eyes lit up like stars, his mysterious princess now stood before him, and her name was _Serenity_.

“I would never agree to an arranged marriage without both my daughter and yourself both agreeing to the match, so I asked that you both should meet first,” the moon queen looked to her daughter. “Serenity?”

The beautiful goddess stood forward, giving him a quick once over, and then a knowing smile. “I like him already,” she winked.


End file.
